


Reboot

by Eternally_Exhausted



Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 07:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 11,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23847673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternally_Exhausted/pseuds/Eternally_Exhausted
Summary: Rex realizes that perhaps he was wrong about his friends abandoning him in favor of life on Systar, so he decides to do some investigating.What he finds out may be evenworsethan what he originally believed.
Comments: 27
Kudos: 73





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Title subject to change, not really feeling this one.

Rex just barely managed to make his retreat, using his remote to call to the Rexcelsior to beam him up and vanishing into thin air a mere moment before Lucy’s heart bomb exploded where he’d been standing. He collapsed into the captain’s chair and took a moment to simply breathe. That had been close; _too_ close. He’d… almost forgotten how vicious Lucy could be in a fight, it had been so long since he’d seen her do it. He tried to suppress the little flutter it had caused.

With shaking hands he reached for the ship’s controls, dialing back to when he first broke the timeline.

He needed to think. Clearly his interference had interrupted whatever spell his friends had been placed under before, allowing them to come looking for his past self. Maybe… maybe they _hadn’t_ simply abandoned him, in his original timeline. Maybe he’d been right about the brainwashing. Old doubts welled up inside him again. He should have known better than to think Lucy would have _ever_ given up on him.

Rex swallowed down bile at the guilt that gnawed away at him. He’d spent so long hating the people he’d been closest to, and to find out they hadn’t stopped caring- not on their own, at least…

He jerked his head up as Ripley chirred worry at him, and roughly wiped away his tears. She gave him a reproving look and grunted, lowering her head to nudge him. “I’m _not_ crying,” he huffed at her. “Just got something in my eye…” She snorted at his response, and nudged him again, more gently this time. “Alright, alright, I got the hint,” he sighed, hugging her head. “Ripley, do you think I might’ve been wrong…?” She lifted a claw, waggling it from side to side in a familiar gesture.

Rex chuckled to himself. His raptors were _so smart_. They could get their point across even without the translator. “Yeah, I think you’re right. We’re gonna try it a little differently this time- I might’ve gotten in over my head. Just a little.” He grinned as she rolled her eyes at him, but his mirth was quick to fall away again. “Lucy came back for him- me- us? Which makes me wonder…” Ripley pulled back to tilt her head at him. “We were the _very best friends_ once, something had to have happened to _make_ her forget, to make them _all_ forget. I need to find out what. I think we’re gonna spend this trip doing some recon.” Ripley nodded in approval.


	2. Chapter 1

Emmet woke with a remarkable sense of déjà vu.

Brushing it off as just a dream that still lingered, he rolled himself out of bed and got started on his day. Things had been quiet for a while now, since they’d finally left Bricksburg behind and built their new city. The Duplos seemed to have lost interest in them altogether. Emmet had figured it was finally time to surprise Lucy with his hopes for their future.

He left his little hovel and headed into the heart of Apocalypseburg, starting on his usual routine. Get some coffee, bid his friends a good morning, do something nice to try to cheer people up, and find Lucy to give her her coffee. He made sure to have Larry mark them, after he’d accidentally given her his once and she’d nearly gagged on the sheer amount of sugar in it.

He made his way up to the lookout; it was her turn to keep watch for the day. As always, he smiled brightly when he saw her left hand bare, showing off the promise ring he’d given her so long ago now. Whatever she might say, however broody she might get, it spoke volumes to him that she continued to wear it even now. He hoped that would be enough to carry her through the surprise he had for her.

But of course it didn’t go as well as he’d hoped. Lucy hesitated, tried to let him down gently, and somehow… Somehow he had known to expect that, by some sense beyond simply knowing her that well. It felt like he’d lived through that exact moment before, and he almost _knew_ what she would say word for word, even before she actually said anything.

And then that spaceship showed up… The word ‘mayhem’ had come to mind the first time he laid eyes on the white and blue and pink orb. Everything after that passed by in a blur- their race back to Batman’s cavern fortress in attempt to escape the ship, the fight with the alien general, the kidnapping of his friends… And then the blast from her thrusters sent him crashing onto the catwalk below, knocking him out for a few minutes.

It wasn’t until he woke up from his fall that he _remembered_.

He laid there for a few minutes longer as he processed memories of events he was certain hadn’t happened. He’d never been to the Systar System, after all, he was quite sure of that. Yet somehow he found himself with the knowledge of how to get there.

Rex. It had to be _Rex’s_ doing. Emmet could remember, now- his future self had escaped after their fight on Undar. He must have reset like he’d said he would. He could feel bile rising in his throat as he sat up, and he wasn’t entirely certain if it was due to his head injury or the sheer amount of anger that welled up at the memory of Rex. He’d never been that mad at _anyone_ in his life.

Emmet heaved a weary sigh and rubbed at his face, his anger fading away as worry resurfaced. _His friends_. Maybe _he’d_ wound up being the cause of Armomageddon, but he couldn’t recall having been presented with any evidence that the Systarians _weren’t_ evil. They could still be in trouble.

Just as he somehow remembered, he turned to see a cavern full of angry faces all directed at him. He winced. They blamed him for Mayhem getting in, despite her ship crashing in through the roof. Even if he hadn’t opened the gate, she would have likely tried that maneuver anyway. It was disheartening. It didn’t matter that he had saved the world a few years back, and everyone’s lives along with it. He would always be the ‘weak link’, the idiot stuck living in a daydream. The outcast.

He wouldn’t bother with trying to rally everyone with an inspiring speech this time. He’d learned last time that nothing could say would rouse these people from their cowardice. “Let me out,” he said instead, a simple request.

“Emmet-” Good Cop started.

“Don’t,” he interrupted, giving the cop a pleading look. “They’re the most important people in my life, I can’t just _let_ them be taken.” Good Cop hesitated for a moment before pulling the lever that would open the gate.

It didn’t slam shut behind him this time.

No one came out after him either, though. He took a moment to breathe in and out slowly. He could do it this time; he remembered where he went wrong, and he wouldn’t make that mistake again. He _could_ get through the Stairgate on his own!

Emmet made his way all the way back to the wreckage of the little house he’d built for himself and Lucy and Unikitty, and stared at it despondently for a minute. It hurt just as much to see it in ruins this time, too. He sighed to himself. If only he’d remembered sooner, maybe he could have prevented all of this… He shook his head. There was no use dwelling on ‘what if’s. He had to work with what he had.

He squared his shoulders and set to work, rebuilding the house into a spaceship he could use to rescue his friends with. He just needed to keep his cool this time, and everything would work out fine.

He didn’t notice the small spacecraft as it landed nearby.


	3. Chapter 2

Emmet was working on putting the roof back in place when the voice called up to him.

“Hey so I couldn’t get anybody in that cavern fortress to respond, think _you_ could tell me what’s going on around here?”

Emmet yelped, the suddenness of the voice startling him enough that he lost his balance. He flailed for a moment, but ultimately lost the battle, and toppled right off the roof. “Ah, geez-!” the stranger yelped, and Emmet found himself expertly caught and placed on his feet. He blinked at the other, tensing. The face had a few more lines on it, the dark hair sporting several strands of silver now, but there was no mistaking the dark blue and bright green space suit.

_“Rex.”_

Rex blinked at him in surprise. “You remember-” He cut himself off, then slowly shook his head, chuckling helplessly to himself. “Really should’ve expected that. You’re his _avatar_ , after all.”

“What are you doing here?” Emmet demanded.

Rex sobered up at the question. “I need your help. You’re the only person I can trust.” Of all the reactions he’d expected Emmet to have, his younger self stepping forward to shove angrily at him wasn’t one of them.

“You lied to me! You tricked me into causing Armomageddon! And you- you said you were just gonna go back and try it all over again until you ‘got it right’! How can _I_ trust that you’re not just trying to trick me into helping you destroy everything again?!”

Rex floundered for words for a few moments, and realized there were only two he could say that could possible make things right. “I’m sorry.”

Emmet stopped, staring at him. “What?”

“I was… wrong. About a lot of stuff.” Every fiber of Rex’s being screamed discomfort at having to admit to such. “She came back for you. She fought tooth and nail for you. Those aren’t the actions of someone who’d gladly forget you for an easier life. And it was… dumb of me to ever believe otherwise. I should’ve trusted that she never would have forgotten us without outside interference.”

“Outside interference?”

“That’s why I need your help. I went back to investigate, to try to find out _why_ they forgot us so readily. When I told you before they were brainwashed, yeah I lied to you then, but… I think, in my timeline, they actually _had_ been. My interference last time broke whatever spell they’d nearly been put under. But I got caught out and had to run. That’s why I need your help. There’s never been anybody who could go unnoticed better than you.”

Emmet quirked a grin at him. “That’s probably the most backhanded compliment I’ve ever received, even counting that time with Metalbeard and my couch.”

Rex gave him an uneasy grin in response. “So, uh. We cool?” He tentatively offered his hand. Instead of taking the offered hand Emmet launched himself at Rex, wrapping his arms around his other self in a tight embrace.

“Yeah, we’re cool.” He pulled back to smile bright at Rex. “Bro.”

Rex smiled back at him in relief. “Awesome.” He then turned his attention to where Emmet’s house-ship stood nearly finished behind him. “…You know, I got room for two in my cruiser. How about we leave that here where it’ll be safe?”

Emmet sagged in relief. “Oh thank goodness, _yes_. I’d much prefer you to fly.” Rex laughed and clapped his shoulder.

“Let’s get a move on then, the clock’s ticking.”

They hadn’t taken two steps toward Rex’s cruiser when they heard the sound of an engine approaching. Before long they could see the vehicle in question, a familiar black and white car hovering over the dusty ground. They watched in stunned silence as it pulled to a stop in front of them and Bad Cop got out.

“Brickowski,” the officer growled.

“Yes?” both of them answered automatically. Rex winced. Emmet just wondered why Bad Cop was there.

Bad Cop seemed equally surprised by Rex’s response. He turned to Emmet. “Who’s this?”

“My brother!” Emmet chirped back without missing a beat.

Bad Cop’s frown deepened. “…We weren’t aware you had a brother.”

“Yeah he’s older than me by almost ten years. He’s been in space until recently.” Rex tried not to let his awe show in front of the cop. Granted, most of that wasn’t even really _un_ true… But Bad Cop still didn’t seem convinced.

“Our family had a ‘falling out’ years ago,” Rex picked up. “I got disowned. Probably why you didn’t find anything about me when you were investigating Emmet.”

“I see,” the cop finally relented.

“Is there something we can help you with?” Emmet asked brightly.

Bad Cop’s mouth pressed into a thin line as he shifted his stance. “We’re coming with you.”

That surprised Emmet. “You are?” He certainly wouldn’t object- even though Rex had apologized, Emmet wasn’t certain he trusted him 100% just yet and he knew he could rely on the cops- but he still had to ask. “Why?”

Good Cop switched out. “Because it’s our duty to protect the citizens of Apocalypseburg. The people here will be fine; I doubt any Duplos will be arriving so soon after General Mayhem’s appearance. Your friends are the ones who need help right now. And we didn’t want to leave you to do this all on your own.”

Bad Cop switched back out, eyeing Rex warily. Rex simply lifted his chin in challenge. “Weren’t expecting you to already have help, though.”

“Honestly? I wasn’t either.” Emmet smiled at the cops. “I’d be glad to have you along, though. Makes our chances of success that much better.”

“Good.”

“I dunno,” Rex interrupted, frowning at them both. “We bring too many people, and our chances of being discovered are that much greater, too.”

“Three bodies isn’t ‘too many’,” Emmet argued. “I really do think we could use their help.”

“I don’t have room in the cruiser for one more.”

“Then we’ll follow in my house-ship.”

Rex growled out a sigh, dragging his hands over his face. “You’re not gonna give up til I say yes, are you?”

Emmet shook his head and grinned at him. “Nope.”

“Alright, _fine_ , they can come.” He eyeballed the cops, then turned to give his cruiser a considering look. “Maybe all three of us can fit in there, though it’ll be a squeeze.”

“At least it’ll only be until we get to the Rexcelsior, right?” Rex nodded.

“Then we’ll manage,” Bad Cop said.

“Alright. Let’s move out, the longer we dawdle, the less time we’ll have to put a stop to the Systarians’ plans.”


	4. Chapter 3

Rex was unnervingly silent the entire flight to the Rexcelsior. Emmet wondered if maybe he was feeling nervous, with Bad Cop keeping such a close eye on him. He wondered if Rex even _could_ feel nervousness. Even with all they’d been through together, even though Rex had once _been him_ , Emmet realized he didn’t actually know his counterpart all that well. How much of Rex’s bravado had been real, and how much had been a front to hide his true self? How much of him was still like Emmet, and how much was someone new, someone different? He’d have to find out soon.

Bad Cop seemed impressed with the sheer size of Rex’s ship, even if he did snort at it being fist-shaped.

Rex pulled Emmet aside as soon as they were on board, muttering some excuse to Bad Cop as they disappeared. The officer said nothing in response, simply lifting one dark brow over his sunglasses as he watched them go. “I don’t like this,” Rex said the moment the cops were out of hearing range. “Things are too different this time.”

“…You don’t think Bad Cop would have come to help anyway if we’d waited just a bit longer?”

Rex shook his head. “No. If I hadn’t interrupted, they still would have gotten there right as you were finishing up. That was one of the first ideas I’d tested after getting off of Undar. They never came _before_. No one did.” Emmet wilted.

“Oh.” He perked up again. “Maybe it being different this time is a good thing?”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“Geez, Rex, I never would have guessed you to be so pessimistic.”

“Not pessimistic Em, _cautious_. Yeah it _could_ be a good thing, but I don’t want to place too much hope in that. Could be devastating, later on. Better to expect the worst. Less setback that way.”

“Sounds like one of your ‘hard-learned life lessons’,” Emmet murmured.

“Quit mumbling, kid, I _know_ I told you I can’t hear so well anymore.”

“And whose fault is that?” He gave Rex a sweet smile when the other huffed at him.

“I’m serious, though. Keep your wits about you. If this much has changed already, then there’s no telling what we might be up against.”

~* *~

“So what’s the plan?” Bad Cop asked the moment the two ‘brothers’ reappeared.

“Still working on that,” Emmet admitted. “Obviously we need to figure out a way into the system without immediately being picked out as ‘outsiders’. Bad Cop, you’re, uh… probably going to have to leave that jacket here.” The officer nodded, already unzipping the jacket to shed it. He turned to Rex after. “Would they recognize your colors?”

“Yeah,” Rex huffed. “Had a few too many run-ins with that General, she’d spot me comin’ from a mile away.”

“Has she seen your face, though?”

Rex thought for a moment, and then grinned. “No, she hasn’t. I was always wearing my helmet. I might have something that doesn’t have my logo all over it, I’ll be right back.” Emmet nodded. He glanced down at himself, then unzipped his work vest, shrugging it off. He couldn’t do much about the worn-off safety tape on his pants, but at least without the vest he stood out a _little_ less. Beside him, Bad Cop had finished removing his belt pouches and knee pads, and even the helmet had come off.

Emmet blinked at him. “Huh. So that’s what it looks like.”

“What?”

“Your hair.” Emmet smiled at him. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you without that helmet.”

Bad Cop frowned and ran his fingers through his dark brown locks. “Does it look bad…?”

Emmet tilted his head in consideration. “It looks a little mushed down from the helmet, but not terrible.” He lifted a hand. “May I?” Bad Cop gave him a single stiff nod, trying not to tense as Emmet reached up to fluff and comb his hair a little. Emmet finished his task fairly quickly, then took a step back to admire his work. “There, that’s better!”

Rex returned a minute later. Emmet gave him a surprised look at his choice of attire- blue jeans, black high top sneakers, and an orange plaid button-up over a t-shirt with some graphic Emmet wasn’t familiar with, but at least it wasn’t his bright green ‘R’. Rex smirked back at him. “They’re kind of old, but the outfit works, right?” He glanced Bad Cop over. “Man, I hardly even recognize _you_.”

“I believe that’s the point.”

Rex frowned at Emmet’s pants, and sighed. “I guess this is as good as we’re going to get. Ripley and Cobra are on stand-by. We’ll start in Suburbia.”


	5. Chapter 4

It was fairly early in the morning yet when they arrived at their destination. It reminded Bad Cop of Bricksburg before the rebellion and the Duplo invasion, just with suburban houses instead of a cityscape. The inhabitants were out and about, talking with each other excitedly over some big event that was apparently scheduled to happen later that day. Many of them were tall Systarians, like the General, but there were also many faces he recognized, not the least of which were the superheroes who had left years ago, never to return.

There were two things he noticed about his fellow Alterrans that disturbed him greatly. One- people he’d known to be sworn enemies, or at least intolerant of each other back home, were acting like the best of friends now. Two- _they were all covered in glitter_. And there didn’t seem to be so much as a single sparkle on any Systarian he could see.

 _Something doesn’t seem right about that_ , Good Cop agreed. _…Can you at least manage a neutral expression? People are starting to stare._

Bad Cop fought down a wince at his other half’s observation. “Right,” he muttered, and tried to school his expression into less of a scowl. A glance at Rex showed the rogue to look _almost_ as out of his depth as Bad Cop himself felt, though he was hiding it behind a confident smirk. Nobody really seemed to be giving Emmet a second glance though, as he cheerfully greeted people on their way down the street.

_You know I would take over for you, but my face…_

**_I know. We’d get caught in a heartbeat._ **

He stepped up to Rex’s side. “You seem the most familiar with these people,” he started. Rex glanced up at him. “What do you think happened to _ours?_ This isn’t normal behavior for them.”

“They’ve been brainwashed,” Rex answered, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard. “Music holds a strange power, here. Certain songs especially. If these people randomly start singing, _run_. You _do not_ want to stick around to find out what the effects are.”

“Duly noted.” The two paused to watch as Emmet chatted up one of the locals, asking about the ‘wedding party’ and where they might be.

“They’re very good friends of mine,” Emmet was saying. “I haven’t seen them for a while though, and I’d like to surprise them, and congratulate them on being invited to be guests of honor at the Queen’s wedding.”

“Oh, you mean the leaders of Apocalypseburg? They’re likely at the palace, the Queen was very excited to meet them for herself.”

“I’ll bet she was,” Rex muttered darkly to himself. He stepped closer to the conversing pair. “Do you think they’d let us in?”

The Systarian glanced at him. “Well… if you _are_ old friends, I don’t see why not! In fact I’m sure the Queen will be thrilled to see friends reunited!”

“Great! Thanks!” Emmet chirped, and bade them farewell. “To the palace, then?” he asked his companions.

“Absolutely,” Rex agreed. “Though I don’t trust that we _would_ be let in just like that. I’ve seen the security around that place, and that General’s almost always hanging around.” He folded his arms and tapped his foot as he thought. “Though with what’s happening today, there’s probably going to be a million things going on at once to get it all ready on time, and everyone will be distracted. We might have a chance to sneak in.”

“Does your cruiser have cloaking technology?” Bad Cop asked.

Rex nodded. “It does. Almost as good as the Rexcelsior’s, even, so we _should_ be able to sneak right up there unnoticed. There’s like fifty balconies, we can hop right in on one of those.”

“Been harassing Systar for a while, have you?” Bad Cop mused. Rex snorted.

“I’ve got good reason to. They took _everything_ from me. And even if I haven’t been back to Alterra in like ten years, it’s still _home_ , and I am _so_ not cool with them constantly attacking it.”

They made it back to where they’d hidden the cruiser in the jungle, and this time Emmet squeezed himself into the back to allow Bad Cop some extra leg room. They made it out of Suburbia unnoticed, and Rex set a course for the palace, located at the heart of the system.

“Oh _wow_ ,” the construction worker gasped as the twisting gold and ivory spires came into view. “That’s amazing!”

“It _is_ pretty,” Rex admitted. “But don’t let it distract you from our task. We’re here to find your friends and get them out, remember?” Emmet nodded. “And then once they’re safe, we have to put a stop to the wedding.”

“Why?” Bad Cop asked.

“Because it’ll-” He paused, catching himself. “ _I think_ it’ll seal whatever spell they’re under, make it permanent. And with so many of our people on their side, Alterra won’t stand a chance. We’ll _all_ be brainwashed and assimilated. There’ll be nothing left of who we are.”

“Then shouldn’t _that_ be our first priority?”

“Our friends haven’t been brainwashed yet, but they’re on the _inside_. We could use that to our advantage. Even just getting Lucy in on the plan would be a huge help,” Emmet explained.

“I see,” Bad Cop murmured. “Makes sense. Very well. I hope this plan of yours works out.”


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up- I went back & rewrote all the previous chapters.

As Rex had predicted, there wasn’t a lot of security keeping an eye on the palace’s many balconies. Rex found a larger one to touch down on, and they quietly made their way inside. It seemed the others actually hadn’t been there much longer; they were just finishing up an argument over who started the fighting

_“Why are we supposed to trust you?”_

_“I’ll tell you using the universal language!”_

“Oh no,” Rex groaned as music started from seemingly nowhere. “Brace yourselves.” Bad Cop leaned forward, peering over the railing into the open room below to watch.

“…She really expects anyone to believe her just because she’s singing a song about it?”

“At least it doesn’t seem to be working on you,” Rex responded, relieved.

_“Benny do you like spaceships? Cause I think they are great!”_

_“How’d you know that loving spaceships is my one defining trait?!”_

Emmet and Rex both glanced up at Bad Cop at his sudden sharp intake of breath. He stood and quickly walked back outside, leaving the two behind to stare at each other in bewilderment. Emmet gave Rex a helpless look, only to get a shrug in response. He bit his lip and turned back to the scene below. He would ask in a bit; for now, he felt he needed to pay attention to the Queen’s song.

“…I believe her.”

Rex groaned. “Great, now you’ve fallen for it too-”

“I’m not brainwashed,” Emmet huffed. “Whatever’s going on, I don’t think the Systarians are doing it on purpose.”

“Just because she does some dumb little song and dance number-”

“Why did you ask for my help if you’re not going to _trust_ me?”

Rex opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again with a growl, pointedly turning his attention back to their friends.

And then Lucy- his beautiful, headstrong Lucy- opened her mouth to start the argument all over again.

_“And this one needs to get changed most of all!”_

Rex gave Emmet a pointed look. He bit his lip. That… really hadn’t sounded _good_ at all. Their friends were ushered out of the palace without another word. With so many guards around, there was no chance to spring them free just yet. “Off to Planet Sparkles, then,” Rex muttered. “Less security there, we might have a chance to free them.”

Emmet swallowed hard. “I hope so.” He got back to his feet and walked back outside to find Bad Cop leaning against the railing, staring out at the stars. He wasn’t scowling like usual, he seemed… sad. “Are you alright?”

“Not really,” Bad Cop muttered.

“Was it something that happened in there?” Bad Cop didn’t answer. Emmet just nodded. “It’s alright, you don’t have to tell me. I get it, if it’s personal.”

“I like Benny,” he finally said.

“Oh.” A moment of silence, then, “have you told him?”

“No. And now I don’t think I ever will.”

Emmet winced, recalling Benny’s response to the Queen’s question. He couldn’t really blame him for that. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Not your fault, Brickowski,” Bad Cop sighed. “I’m pretty well used to it by now anyway.”

“You two done having your heart to heart? We need to get moving- that spa is where they do their most serious brainwashing. Hell, they even straight up call it a ‘re-education center’.”

Bad Cop nodded, straightening up. “Let’s go, then.”

~* *~

Lucy kept a wary eye out as they entered the spa. It wasn’t what she pictured it would be like, almost looking more like a massive crystal palace. And of course the people in charge were _vampires_. How much more obvious could the Systarians get?

She could have screamed in frustration when the others jumped straight into being pampered. The Queen had obviously already won them over, with her offer of _stuff_. The Queen hadn’t offered _her_ anything, and even if she had, Lucy wouldn’t be swayed. There was nothing even a shapeshifting Empress of an entire solar system could give her that she would want- she already had everything she wanted out of life, and it had been ripped away from her the moment the General had stolen her away.

“ _She_ needs extra treatment,” the General told the vampires.

“ _No_ ,” Lucy said immediately, starting to step away, only for her wrist to be grabbed. Teenager or not, the vampire nearly found himself thrown into a wall anyway.

“Yes,” he was saying. “I know _exactly_ what to do with this one. But first, we will need to remove _this_ for safe keeping.” He practically sneered down at her ring as he slid it off her finger. Lucy was too stunned at his audacity to fight back, and then she simply didn’t get the chance, whisked away almost immediately to begin her own ‘treatments’. The giant robotic hands that dragged her through each one didn’t allow for much of a struggle, let alone a proper fight, and she was helpless to do anything other than endure.

 _I can survive this_ , she told herself. _It’s just… spa treatments. Nothing that can do any harm. And then I can get my ring back after._

She’d even managed to ignore the vampire’s incessant blathering- at least up until she was subjected to a ‘sparkle rinse’ and his shocked outburst of “your _hair!_ ”

Fighting down panic as everyone surrounded her for a look, Lucy glanced wildly about for a mirror, and finally found one, only to watch the black bleed away into blue and pink.

“That’s not my hair,” was all she managed to get out, her head spinning. “That’s _not my hair!_ ”


	7. Chapter 6

“It’s so adorable! And _cute!_ ”

“Are you covering up some un-dark past?”

“Well well well! I thought ye were tough! Looks like the peg’s on the other leg!”

“Wait, is she secretly _cutesy?_ ”

Lucy couldn’t give them an answer as she fought not to hyperventilate. She could recall _very clearly_ having her bangs bleached and dyed on a regular basis to keep the colorful highlights. Emmet had even gone with her a few times to see how it was done. “ _This isn’t my real hair!_ ” she finally snapped, glaring in challenge at her friends. “My hair is _naturally black!_ Can you guys _seriously_ not remember my highlights fading?!”

“I dunno, Wyldstyle, that black sure looks like it’s washing right out,” Benny pointed out.

“ _They did something to it!_ Are you seriously going to trust someone you’ve known for barely an hour over someone you’ve known _for five years?!_ ”

“Pardon my language, but she’s a real grumpledumpuss,” the vampire huffed, earning a round of gasps. Lucy only gave him a flat glare.

“Take her for some music therapy,” the General commanded. “Then she’ll be ready to join our ceremony.”

Lucy struggled as she was marched to another section of the temple. “Just listen to the music, and let your mind go,” the vampire told her, just before she was shoved into a room and sealed in. She stared around as giant speakers lowered from the ceiling and almost immediately began blasting some catchy pop song, the bass thumping through her entire body.

_“This song’s gonna get stuck inside your- this song’s gonna get stuck inside your- this song’s gonna stuck inside your head!”_

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me,” she muttered, but soon the annoyance faded to horror as she could _feel_ it working its way through her. It was burrowing into her brain, just as it threatened it would, slowly starting to pick at her less than happy memories. With a shriek she launched herself at one of the speakers, tearing it apart in seconds. She fashioned a pair of headphones from the debris to try to block out the insidious music before grabbing a long pole and using it to pry open another door. It shattered under the force of her fury.

On the other side was Unikitty, her fur its natural bubblegum pink for the first time in years. “Unikitty, let’s get out of here!”

“Wyldstyle, it’s _fun!_ Sing along!”

The rest of the group joined them then, closing in on her as they tried to convince her to join in. Metalbeard had had a new body built for him, and Benny’s arm was seemingly restored- or was a very masterful prosthetic that mimicked his original perfectly. “What’s _wrong_ with you?! You’re not acting like yourselves!”

“Don’t be a grumpledumpuss!” Unikitty teased.

“Don’t you see?! They are trying to _change_ us!” She started to move with the music, and screamed her frustration. “Shoulder! _Stay still!_ ” she growled as she glanced around for a way out. If she tried to break out through the door, she’d be greeted by those weird robot guards and the General. She didn’t like those odds.

There! Up near the ceiling, an air duct! She jumped up onto the shuffling platforms, using them to launch herself upward and toward the duct, swinging inside with ease. She took a moment to breathe; it was considerably quieter inside. The feeling of those little fingers sifting through her brain had eased. She’d _thought_ something weird was going on, but brainwashing?

Whatever that Queen might have sang at them about being ‘not evil’, her actions were certainly proving otherwise. This wasn’t just weird, this was downright _sinister_.

She crawled away from the rooms being blasted with music and kicked the grate out with perhaps more force than was really necessary, but the resulting _clang!_ and looks of shock on the vampires' faces was more than worth it. She stalked up to the young man, snarl firmly in place.

“ _Where’s my ring,_ ” she demanded.

“Ring?” came the puzzled response. “You didn’t have a ring-”

 _“The hell I didn’t!”_ Lucy exploded. “It was hammered copper with a wire-wrapped sapphire and I was wearing it on my left hand and you _took it_ for ‘safe keeping’ before you shipped me off for those stupid _‘treatments’_!” By now she’d grabbed his collar and was shaking him. Maybe putting the fear of The Man Upstairs into him would jog his memory.

A white-gloved fist flew toward her face and she jerked back, releasing her hold on the vampire to avoid getting hit. She glared at the General, and dodged a few more punches before finally managing to kick her away. The moment the opportunity presented itself, she sprinted for the exit, putting a fair bit of distance between it and herself before climbing up to hide among the crystal formations.

She watched from her vantage as the blocky guard-bots were deployed to look for her, but with no luck. It seemed they didn’t have flight capability like the General, and so couldn’t see her from the ground. Lucy smirked to herself. Apparently the General hadn’t thought the temple climbable. Eventually they gave up. Lucy crammed herself further into her hidey-hole in case the General herself came out to search, but it remained silent.

After a while she heard an announcement that the buses would be departing for the wedding soon, and she climbed back down to get a better view. She watched as the others were loaded onto a bus, the General herself taking Batman alone, for who knew what reason. Nothing good, she guessed.

Lucy watched with curiosity as a pair of Systarians in armor similar to the General’s approached her, conversed for several minutes, then saluted and left again. She wished she could have heard what they were saying. Just as she was debating creeping closer to sneak a ride out under one of the buses, a whisper caught her attention.

“Lucy!”

That… sounded like Emmet. She shook her head. She had to be hearing things.

“Lucy, over here!”

That was it. That song _had_ gotten to her, and she'd officially lost her mind. She looked over anyway.

To her immense surprise, there stood Emmet, along with someone who looked like Bad Cop (if the sunglasses and scowl were anything to go by, at least) and another man she didn’t recognize but who looked somewhat like Emmet. The other two didn’t matter to her in that moment. Emmet was there.


	8. Chapter 7

_“General!”_

Mayhem sat up and pulled off her helmet as she tried to catch her breath, wincing as she rubbed at her midsection where she’d been kicked. Her armor had taken the worst of it, but still, _ow_.

“Are you alright?” She glanced up at Balthazar’s fussing, and nodded.

“I’m alright, she just knocked the wind out of me.” She accepted the hand up. “I’m starting to think this whole ‘tough’ act isn’t working. All it’s done is put her in fight or flight mode.”

“At least the others are coming around,” Balthazar pointed out.

“Yes, but now that she’s loose… She might find a way to undo all of our hard work. I’ve never met anyone so resistant to any of our therapies.” Mayhem took a deep breath and, satisfied that nothing was aching anymore, replaced her helmet. “The others should be just about ready. Tell the drivers they can start bringing the buses around. I’ve got to contact the Queen.”

“Of course.”

 _“So how’s it going?”_ the monarch’s voice rang through her helmet, bright with enthusiasm. _“Have they relaxed yet?”_

“Most of them,” Mayhem answered. “Though your groom is still putting up token resistance. The one they call Wyldstyle has escaped.”

_“That really argumentative one?”_

“That’s her.”

Watevra huffed. _“Somehow I knew she’d be trouble. Keep looking for her, Sweet, we_ can’t _let her ruin the ceremony! Everything is depending on it!”_

“Of course, Your Majesty. “

_“And would you mind bringing the Man of Bats back to the palace? We’ve still got a lot of planning to do.”_

“We’ll be there shortly.”

_“See you soon!”_

Mayhem ended the call, and sighed, lamenting that she couldn’t be in multiple places at once. She had a feeling the Guards wouldn’t be able to find Wyldstyle themselves, but having seen the ‘leaders’ of Apocalypseburg fight for herself, she also knew they wouldn’t be able to handle Batman if he decided to get feisty.

She watched as the Guards returned, unsuccessful, and sent them to retrieve their ‘guests’ instead. Wyldstyle would most likely come to them herself at some point, and then, Mayhem would be ready for her. For now, she had other things to attend to. “I must take the Man of Bats to the Queen,” she told Balthazar, who nodded in response.

“I’m not going anywhere,” the vigilante argued upon hearing her. She pulled out a remote and pointed it toward him, and with the press of a button he was encapsulated in an antigravity forcefield and lifted off the ground, unable to escape. “Alright I stand corrected, I _am_ going somewhere.”

Mayhem had only taken a few steps toward her ship when another approached the spa temple. She paused to wait as it landed. Two figures hopped out of the scouting ship. They both wore similar armor to her own, though one had red and blue markings in place of her pink and teal, and the other had black where hers was white. Havoc and Discord, her two best scouts.

They approached her and saluted. “General,” Discord, the one in black, greeted.

“You’ve found something.” They wouldn’t have come looking for her otherwise.

Havoc nodded. “We spotted the Rexcelsior parked just past the system’s boundaries.”

Mayhem fought down a sigh, along with a few less than tasteful words. “Of course Dangervest would choose _now_ to stir up trouble, after being silent for so long. Did he spot you? Has he tried anything yet?”

“That’s just it, the ship is just sitting there. So he’s probably already inside the system.”

The General did sigh then, and nodded. “Alright. Havoc, grab another scouting ship. I’ll need you two to split up to cover more ground, but keep in contact with each other. Sweep the system. _Find him_. We cannot let him disrupt everything, not when we’re finally so close.”

The two scouts saluted and left.

“So uh. Who’s Dangervest?” Batman asked.

“No one you need to be concerned about. We’ll handle him.” He shrugged as she shoved him into her ship to take him back to the palace.


	9. Chapter 8

“Emmet!” she gasped and ran toward him. He grinned and caught her easily.

“You’re okay!” he cheered, hugging her close. She returned the embrace, hugging him back just as tightly for a second before pulling away to meet his gaze.

“How did you get here? And who’s this guy?” She gestured toward the stranger.

“That’s Rex, my brother.”

“You never mentioned having a brother…”

“That’s ‘cause we had a falling out a long time ago.”

“ _You_ had a ‘falling out’ with someone,” Lucy murmured in disbelief. Emmet shrugged.

“It does happen. Anyway, he helped us get here to rescue you!”

“How kind of him.”

“Oh. Lucy… Your ring…”

“I _know_ ,” she huffed. “I’m so sorry, Emmet, they took it and I couldn’t get it back-!”

He gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I believe you. And now I’ll get to make you a better one!”

She took his hands, tugging gently until he leaned down to touch foreheads with her. “I liked _that_ one.” She frowned as a thought occurred to her. “You haven’t said anything about my hair.”

He blinked at her, and almost winced at his realization. He’d forgotten to act surprised. “Should I? I mean I think it looks nice.” Lucy stared at him.

“In fact you don’t even seem surprised at all,” Bad Cop rumbled at him in suspicion. “Almost like you were _expecting_ it.”

“I didn’t see much point in raising a fuss over it,” Emmet floundered.

“And we’ve got more important things to worry about anyway,” Rex finally spoke up. “We’ve got Lucy, but we still have to get the others, somehow. And interrupt that wedding.”

“The wedding?” Rex explained it to her the same way he had to Bad Cop just a couple hours earlier. “So they really _are_ up to something with that.”

“Do you think you could help us in like an undercover sort of way?” Emmet asked.

“After my behavior in there?” Lucy shook her head. “It would be _really_ suspicious if I started cooperating out of the blue. I’m afraid I blew any chances of that.”

“You can’t come with us though, we _really_ don’t have room for a fourth person in the cruiser,” Rex said.

Lucy smirked at him. “There’s three Master Builders here. I’m sure we can manage.”

Rex opened his mouth, ready to argue, and then closed it again. “…Alright, you’ve got a point.” He rapped his knuckles against the cruiser, and it fell into a pile of parts. Together the four of them gathered more parts to rebuild a bigger ship. Rex attempted to help with it, but after a minute, had to take a step back. He couldn’t…

He _couldn’t_.

He hadn’t had cause to use his Master Building skills after Building the Rexcelsior and his various other equipment, but he hadn’t thought that was something that could ever be _lost_. And yet he found himself unable to contribute.

Emmet paused, turning to give him a concerned look. “Rex? You alright?”

 _“I can’t Build,”_ he answered, tone bordering on horrified.

That got Lucy’s and Bad Cop’s attention. “You used to?” the cop asked.

“ _Yeah_ , I Built the Rexcelsior, after all. But that was… _years_ ago. It’s not an ability I’ve really needed to use since.”

“It’s not something that just goes away if you don’t use it, though,” Lucy said, narrowing her eyes. “Like riding a bike- you never really forget how.”

“I _didn’t_ forget,” Rex snapped. “It’s just not coming to me! I can’t- I can’t See how the pieces fit together anymore…”

“…A result of being here for too long?” Emmet hazarded a guess.

“I- yeah, maybe,” Rex accepted, starting to calm back down. “Been hanging around here too much, place is getting to me…”

“You’re sure that’s the case?” Bad Cop pressed.

“Not really, but since I’ve never seen anyone from Systar Master Build anything, or even anyone from back home, after being assimilated, I can only assume it’s not a thing here.”

“Alright,” Lucy sighed. “So we’ll need to be more careful if we want to get out of here still ourselves. Rex, you just- chill for a bit, we’ll finish this.” The rogue nodded stiffly before finding a rock to sit on as he watched them, mind racing.

He was starting to suspect that wasn’t the _only_ thing about him that had changed.


	10. Chapter 9

They finished rebuilding the spacecraft. It still had some of Rex’s signature dark blue and bright green, but mixed in with black, sky blue, and red, it wasn’t immediately recognizable as something of _his_ anymore. He had to admit, the three of them really did work well together; the new ship was sleek, built for speed and stealth. Emmet crawled into one of the passenger seats in the back, and Lucy scooted in next to him, leaving Bad Cop as Rex’s copilot. Which suited him fine, really, Emmet was next to useless and having Lucy sit next to him was… well, he may have decided not to be mad at his old friends anymore, but it was still awkward.

“So do we have a plan for stopping the wedding yet?” Lucy asked.

“…We hadn’t gotten that far,” Emmet admitted.

“Well one way to do it would be to stop construction of the Temple-” Rex started.

“We’re _not_ destroying it, Rex,” Emmet interrupted. “That’s what causes Armomageddon, and we _don’t_ want that.” Lucy gave him a surprised look at how forcefully his words had come out.

“Aw, shit.”

Emmet gave Rex a startled look. “What?”

“We’ve got someone on our tail,” Bad Cop said, taking notice of the ship behind them as well.

“Buckle up!” Rex commanded. Emmet hastened to obey, knowing full well how his counterpart flew, and watched wide-eyed as a black and gold cruiser drew near and started firing on them.

“Who is that?!” the construction worker yelped.

“I saw that ship not too long ago, it landed at the spa and the two people in it talked to the General,” Lucy said, scowling in its direction.

“Mayhem’s two best scouts, Havoc and Discord,” Rex muttered, concentrating on evasive maneuvers. “They must have figured out I’m here, and they do _not_ like me. Thought we’d have a little longer before they found us, though!”

“Anything I can do to help?” Bad Cop asked.

“Yeah get ready to shoot, I’m gonna try to get you lined up-”

Lucy could only stare in amazement at the aerobatics Rex put their ship through before finally shooting straight up in such a way even the Systarian ship couldn’t keep up with, and looping back so they were pointed right at it. Bad Cop took the opportunity and fired, managing to shoot off an aileron. The space orb wobbled a bit, but whoever was flying was easily as good a pilot as Rex, and they shot back. Lucy barely had time to gasp out a curse before the shot hit their ship, shattering it and scattering its occupants.

She flew helplessly through space, and realized with no small amount of wonder that she could still breathe. She barely had time to ponder that before the pod popped open to allow a figure in black armor to exit, and they flew straight for her. Unarmed and unable to control her flight path, she had no choice but to submit to capture.

~* *~

Bad Cop could only lay on the floor in a daze after crashing through the window of one of the party buses. The loud music cut out immediately, and three familiar faces peered down at him with surprise and curiosity. They backed off as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes under his sunglasses.

“Bad Cop!” Unikitty cheered.

“You know this guy?” a Systarian asked, giving him a wary look.

“He’s a friend,” Benny answered, offering a hand to pull him back to his feet. “What are you doing here?”

Bad Cop’s first response was to curse softly before hurrying to repair the damaged window, lest the scouts come looking for him next. He’d just managed to get a glimpse of one of them grabbing Wyldstyle. That taken care of, he turned to his fellow Alterrans. “Looking for you, actually,” he finally answered.

 _What are the odds we’d crash into the bus they were on?_ Good Cop piped up.

**_Luck finally favors us for once, it seems._ **

“Well ye found us.” Metalbeard eyeballed him curiously. “Almost didn’t recognize ye, matey.”

“That’s rather the point.”

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Unikitty asked, giving him a worried look.

“We’re fine.”

“ _Why_ were you looking for us?” Benny pressed.

Bad Cop glanced around. There were maybe four Systarians present, including the driver, and they seemed even less capable of putting up a fight than Emmet. Unikitty let out a cry of shock as he leapt into action and knocked out the three humanoids, grabbing a rope light to tie them up with. “Put that radio down,” he growled at the driver, “and keep driving.” The zebra ducked his head and obeyed without question, and Bad Cop slammed shut the door between the cockpit and the cabin so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“What are you doing?!” Benny demanded.

“Rescuing you,” Bad Cop snapped back. “You’ve been brainwashed.”

“We have not!” Unikitty protested. “Just because we’re enjoying ourselves for the first time in years doesn’t mean we’ve been _brainwashed_ -”

“No?” Bad Cop interrupted. “Cause you sure seemed taken in by the Queen’s song, back at the palace, won over in an instant by the promise of mere _stuff_.”

“Ye were there?”

“Yeah, we were, along with Emmet and his brother.” The three gave him a blank stare. “…You don’t remember. Of course.” He growled out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair as he thought, his gaze landing on Benny’s right arm, seemingly restored. An idea came to him. “Ben, take off your glove. No, the other one.” The astronaut gave him a strange look but complied, pulling off his right glove.

“What’s this about?”

“Do you remember how you lost your arm?”

The three of them stared at him as though he’d grown two more heads. “You sure you didn’t hit your head on the way in?” Benny asked in growing concern and held his arm up, wiggling five fingers. “Cause it sure looks like _my arm_ to me.” He fell still when Bad Cop grabbed his bared hand, rubbing his thumb over the back, and slowly started to hyperventilate.

He couldn’t feel the cop’s touch.

“What-”

“What are ye doin’ to him?!” Metalbeard roared.

“Benny! Benny it’s okay, _breathe_ -”

“I’m not doing anything to him,” Bad Cop said, keeping his tone calm and even. “It’s a pretty convincing replacement, but it’s still a prosthetic.”

“My- my arm-” Benny gave Bad Cop a pleading look. _“What happened??”_

“I need you to try to remember yourself, Ben. Okay? But I’ll start you off- you lost it about two years into our fight against the Duplos.”

Benny took in a shuddering breath, staring down at where their hands were still joined. He still couldn’t feel a thing, no matter how hard he tried to imagine it. He focused hard, trying to remember. Fighting against the Duplos- that was a good place to start. Slowly it started to come back to him.

“We… we _were_ fighting the Duplos, weren’t we?” Bad Cop nodded. “It was night…”

“That’s right.”

“They caught us by surprise that time. Someone threw a grenade- I got caught in the shrapnel-”

“It sent a sheet of steel right through your arm.”

“And several big pieces of glass elsewhere… I almost didn’t make it.” He closed his eyes, shaking. “How could I have forgotten…”

Unikitty worked her jaw wordlessly for a moment. “We really were brainwashed, weren’t we?” she finally asked. “I forgot, too- you destroyed Cloud Cuckooland.”

“I did.”

“And I _still_ haven’t forgiven you for that.”

“You haven’t.”

“Ye mentioned Emmet- he be the Special, aye?”

Bad Cop nodded, relief washing through him. “That’s right.”

Benny sighed. “The one person in Apocalypseburg that never changed…” He startled. “Wait- he’s here too?!”

Bad Cop managed a smile. “Of course he is, you’re the best friends he’s ever had.”

“And we _forgot him!_ ” Unikitty wailed. “I feel so _awful_ now!”

“It was the song, wasn’t it?” Benny realized. “We didn’t start to forget until she started singing- and then at the spa, that _really_ catchy song-”

“Wyldstyle were right,” Metalbeard groaned. “And we were so ready to just write her off as paranoid…”

“But at least now you remember,” Bad Cop said. “Which is good because we’re going to need your help to stop the ceremony.”

~* *~

“LUCY!!” Emmet screamed, reaching for her even as they were thrown from the ship in opposing directions. Rex had been quick to grab him, then tugged up a sleeve to press a button on his watch. “Rex, what-”

“Give it a second,” his counterpart said. After a minute, Emmet spotted Rex’s spacesuit flying toward them, and nearly panicked when he was released so the suit could wrap around its owner unimpeded. Properly suited up once again Rex grabbed hold of him and pulled him close once more. “Hold on tight.” Emmet nodded and squeezed as hard as he could manage. The suit’s wings flipped out and the jetpack’s thrusters kicked on, and Rex carried him toward the closest planet. It looked like they would be hiding on Suburbia yet again.

Rex touched down gently and finally nudged Emmet into letting go of him. Emmet made sure he had his footing, then bounced. “That was _so cool_ , the thing with the suit! I mean it just went _zoom_ right to you! How’d you figure out how to do that?!”

“I saw it in a movie once,” Rex said.

“You gonna keep it on this time?”

“Yeah,” Rex sighed. “No doubt they already told Mayhem I’m here. The whole system’s gonna be on alert now, no point in trying to hide anymore.” Emmet nodded. “Come on, we gotta figure out another way to the Temple.”

“But Rex, we gotta get Lucy-”

“She’ll probably be taken there anyway. As it is, we don’t have the time to focus on just _her_ anymore. She can look after herself. We gotta stop the ceremony before it seals _everyone’s_ fates.”

Emmet debated remaining stubborn, then deflated with a sigh, and nodded. “You’re right… Hey, you think it’d work if I just marched up there and yelled ‘I object’? That’s supposed to stop a wedding from happening, right?”

Rex chuckled. “Certainly seems to in the movies, but I’m not so sure it’ll work for this.”

“What if we can get to Batman, convince him to say no-”

“He probably won’t be outside the Queen’s company from now on,” Rex mused. “They’re too desperate for this to work to leave him alone to have second thoughts for even a second.”

Emmet huffed at him. “Sure, just keep shooting down all my suggestions. You just want an excuse to fight, don’t you?”

“Em, I don’t think we’ll have a _choice_. Especially not now that Lucy and I have both kicked the hornets’ nest.” Emmet folded his arms and sulked for a moment, trying to think of any other ideas that might work, when something- or rather, some _one_ \- caught his eye. He dropped his arms and stared. “Emmet? What is it-” He followed the construction worker’s gaze, tilting his head. “…Huh.”

_“President Business??”_


	11. Chapter 10

“Brickowski!” Business greeted upon spotting him, grinning widely. “Fancy seeing you here! Did you come for the wedding?”

“Yeah,” Emmet answered, barely giving it a thought. “What are _you_ doing here? I thought you went golfing!”

“Oh I did, I did,” Business waved him off. “But wouldn’t you know it, our world is flat? I lost my golf ball over the edge! I fell too when I tried to get it back, and one of those nice Auroran scouts saved me and brought me here! And this place is so great, I haven’t left since!” Rex and Emmet exchanged glances; Rex looked weirded out by the whole exchange. “Who’s your friend?”

“Actually, this is my brother, Rex,” Emmet introduced him.

Business lit right up. “You have a brother! That’s great! I have a brother too actually, did you know?” He paused, then frowned. “It’s been a long time since I last saw him…”

“Do you miss him?” Emmet asked.

“I suppose, I mean we were never super close or anything… Kind of sad, isn’t it…?” He perked back up again. “But hey, once our world is merged with Systar, Risky and I will have all the time in the world to hang out!”

“Almost had him,” Rex muttered. Emmet elbowed him.

“Say, I hope you two aren’t planning on going to the wedding dressed like _that_. It’s a high-profile event, you know, you’ll stick out like sore thumbs!”

Rex pounced on the opportunity. “Yeah we kinda came on short notice. Don’t suppose you might be able to help us out?”

“Sure, there’s time yet! Come on!” Business gestured for them to follow, and began to walk again. “So how’s Bricksburg been in my absence?”

~* *~

Lucy was marched back into the palace by the black-armored scout, hands bound in front of her. Mayhem was waiting for them. Lucy gave her a defiant glare.

“General,” the scout greeted with a salute. “We lost sight of the tall one, but Dangervest and his other companion were spotted heading toward Suburbia. Havoc’s on their trail as we speak.”

“Excellent work,” Mayhem praised. “I’ll handle this one. I need you back out there to find the missing rebel.”

“Of course, General.” Discord left them, then. The two stared at each other. Lucy watched warily, wondering what Mayhem would do next. She wasn’t expecting the General to pop off her helmet.

Or for her to be so _cute_.

…Damn it, where did _that_ thought come from-?!

“I’m sorry,” Mayhem said. “It seems we started off on the wrong foot.”

“And whose fault is that?” Lucy snapped. The General bowed her head, accepting the blame.

“The Duplos told us about all of their encounters with your people. I thought, if I talked tough, if I acted tough, maybe then I could get you to listen. The Duplo scouts we sent certainly didn’t seem to be getting anywhere with you.” She held up a hand to forestall Lucy’s argument. “We did eventually realize they weren’t the best ambassadors to send to your planet, which was why we stopped sending them.”

The human blinked as that sank in. “So- it _wasn’t_ because we moved to Apocalypseburg?”

It was Mayhem’s turn to stare in surprise. “No… You built it because of the Duplos?”

“We thought it was the only thing that would stop attracting them!”

“ _We_ thought you moved there because it was part of your ‘aesthetic’ or something…”

Lucy heaved an aggravated sigh and dragged her hands over her face. “Would you just tell me what it is you want with us? Cause we tried to play nice at first, but then your Duplos started trying to _eat people_. They even said they were there to destroy us!”

“We just wanted to join you,” Mayhem said softly. “To play with you. You inspired our world. You _gave us our queen_. We’ve always looked up to you…”

“You guys are _terrible_ communicators,” Lucy sighed.

“I know,” Mayhem admitted, flinching. “But that’s why I had Havoc and Discord bring you to me, so that we can just… talk, and try to figure something out _together_. Like we should have done from the start. That’s kind of what this whole wedding thing is about, even. We’re trying to find a way to _stop_ all the fighting.”

Lucy let her guard down. The alien General seemed sincere. “Alright,” she relented. “Alright. What did you have in mind?”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was certain _someone_ would have been proud of her for taking the peaceful option. She shoved the thought from her mind, giving Mayhem her full attention.


	12. Chapter 11

Bad Cop leaned against a wall, arms folded across his chest as he watched Benny and Metalbeard poke curiously at Benny’s new prosthetic, clearly impressed by its complexity. The two tossed ideas back and forth, brainstorming ways to improve it by adding a synthetic sense of touch. Bad Cop didn’t miss the way Benny’s gaze kept flicking up toward him. “What is it?” he finally huffed.

“Dude, I just can’t get over how _weird_ it is to see you without your uniform and helmet,” the astronaut answered.

“Are you guys done poking at Benny’s arm yet?” Unikitty piped up. “We should probably be discussing ways to stop the wedding _before_ we get to the Temple.”

“Aye, but them Systarians will likely be wakin’ up soon-”

“Nah,” Unikitty purred. “We’ve got time yet. I enchanted them to stay asleep while you two were nerding out.” Benny laughed at her choice of words.

“Any ideas, Bad Cop?”

He shook his head. “We know there won’t really be a chance for a fight. That place is going to be crawling with guards.”

Metalbeard drummed his fingers on the table. “…It were music that got us into this mess,” he mused. “Ought to be music what sorts it back out. Least it be what them Systarians seem to understand best.”

“Don’t look at me,” Benny said, holding his hands up. “You all heard me sing.”

“You’re not _that_ bad, Ben.”

Benny grinned at Bad Cop. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, man. Still, I’m no good at coming up with lyrics, at the very least not within the amount of time we’ve got left to come up with a plan.”

“Aye, same here,” Metalbeard lamented, and Unikitty nodded in commiseration.

“Bad, you should play the violin!”

The gazes of their three friends whipped toward them at the sound of Good Cop’s voice.

“Wh- _no_.”

“Why not? You’re really good at improv with it!”

“ _I said no_ ,” Bad Cop hissed in response, face turning an interesting shade of red.

“Didn’t know ye could play an instrument.”

Bad Cop frowned as hard as he could at the pirate.

“Do you think that would work?” Benny wondered aloud. “I kinda got the feeling words needed to be involved.”

“I think so,” Unikitty answered. “I mean, think about it! There’s a bunch of different planets in this system, each of them with at least one unique language. If _music_ is considered their ‘universal language’, then I’d say it’s a safe bet that’s it’s not words that are important but the _tone_ of the song.”

“Then how do you explain the Queen’s ‘not evil’ song?” Bad Cop huffed. “The ‘tone’ of _that_ one seemed pretty insidious to us.”

Benny snickered. “You know, she got some words completely mixed up too. Might have just been a miscommunication issue.”

“It be the best bet we’ve got, Bad Cop,” Metalbeard pressed. Bad Cop sighed and pushed his sunglasses up to rub the heels of his palms against his eyes.

“Fine, fine,” he grumbled. “Gonna need a violin, then.”

“Pretty sure I saw one on your frame somewhere,” Benny told Metalbeard. “I mean they totally turned you into a one man band. There it is!” He retrieved the instrument from where it was attached to the captain’s back and passed it over to the cop. Bad Cop quirked an eyebrow at the purple and gold coloring, but didn’t comment on it, instead touching bow to strings to test it. They all winced at the flat sound it produced.

“Hang on,” Bad Cop mumbled, taking several minutes to get it into tune.

“Oh, that’s much better!” Unikitty cheered when he managed a short, jaunty tune. “Now we just need to get you a better Systarian outfit so you’ll blend in better!”

“He be almost as tall as they are,” Metalbeard observed. “Should be something at the Temple we can ‘borrow’.”

“We’ll find something,” Bad Cop said. “You three just keep your heads down, keep playing along.”


	13. Chapter 12

The former President had managed to find the two of them something to wear to the wedding, something that would help them blend in better. Emmet paused after pulling on his new shirt, and tilted his head. “…Rex.”

“Yeah?” The rogue didn’t even slow down as he buttoned up his vest (a formal one, rather than his usual attire, though still in his favored dark blue).

“You’re taller than me.”

Rex scoffed. “Got lifts in my boots.”

“Rex, you’re not wearing your boots.”

The rogue froze, and blinked down at his stockinged feet as Emmet’s words sank in. “…Oh.” He looked back up at Emmet. “…Is that all?”

The Special hesitated. “…Your eyes are green, too. I mean they were when we first met but when you came back to find me in Apocalypseburg they were brown like mine so I figured you were just wearing contacts, but they’re green again. And you’ve cursed like, three or four times now.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Geez, Rex, _breathe_ -” Emmet yelped, reaching for his counterpart as Rex swayed. Rex gripped Emmet’s arms reflexively as he fought down panic.

“ _Emmet what’s happening to me_.”

Emmet gave him a shaky grin. “You’re really gonna freak out about this when you’ve already given yourself a complete overhaul?”

“ _I had control over it then!_ ”

“Rex, _it’s okay_. I think… you’re just becoming more _you_. That’s all.”

“What the _fuck_ do you mean.”

Emmet fought down a hysterical giggle. Rex really didn’t need him to start laughing in that moment. “Maybe… maybe once upon a time, you were meant to be me from the future, but maybe… in _their_ reality, we’re separate figures?” Rex started to calm down, frowning thoughtfully. “I mean… I remember everything you did, I know better than to ever become you, and yet. You’re _still here_.”

Rex was silent for a long time. “So he didn’t just… _abandon_ me when he chose you. He still wants me around.”

Emmet smiled. “I’d say so.”

“So what, he’s _retconning_ me into actually being your brother?” Rex snorted, but Emmet could see the hope in his eyes.

“What do you say, Rex? Want to be a Brickowski again?”

Rex stared at him for a moment, then thumped his head against Emmet’s shoulder. “…Yeah, actually, that sounds great,” he murmured.

“I hate to break up… whatever this is,” Business interrupted, “but we need to get a move on if we want to get to the Temple on time!”

“Ever hear of being ‘fashionably late’?” Rex grumbled. Emmet snickered.

“I _invented_ being fashionably late, but I don’t want to be for this!”

“You go on ahead, we’ll catch up,” Emmet assured. Business nodded and left them alone again.

“Got a plan yet?” Rex asked.

“No,” Emmet sighed. “I’ll keep thinking, but for now I’m gonna stick to the ‘I object!’ plan and see if that works.”

Rex snorted. “Well if that’s what we’ve got, then that’s what we’ve got.” He pulled his shoes on. “Finish getting dressed, would you? Maybe Business has the right idea- we don’t want to be late and miss that window of opportunity.”

~* *~

They untied the Systarians before arriving at the Temple and arranged them at the tables to look like they’d worn themselves out partying. The buses landed and let their passengers out. Bad Cop departed with his friends; all of Systar had been invited, it seemed, and so no one was keeping track of guests. They made it into the Temple, and the other three were whisked away immediately.

At the first opportunity, Bad Cop snuck his way out of the crowd and further into the Temple. Outside of the massive main hall, the place was pretty empty. He’d thought there’d be at least a few guards patrolling the rest of the building, on the lookout for him or Rex and Emmet, but there was no sign of anyone.

 _Makes our job easier, at least,_ Good Cop said. Bad Cop hummed in agreement, and began his search.

Eventually he found a room containing a few outfits in something close to their size. He flipped through them. They were _very_ Systarian in style. He grimaced in distaste. “ _Ugh_.”

 _Just_ pick _something, Bad. We won’t have to wear it for long._

Bad Cop grumbled some more as he went through the clothes again, picking pieces from different outfits to combine them into something more palatable before changing. He looked himself over in the nearby mirror.

 _It works_ , Good Cop chimed in, then hesitated. _…You should probably take your sunglasses off. You’re too recognizable with them on._

Bad Cop froze at his counterpart’s words. Much as he hated going without them, Good had a point. The scouts had seen him with them on, and in Systar, they stood out like a neon sign. With a rough sigh he took them off and pocketed them, taking a moment to orient himself again before grabbing the violin and leaving the room once more. It was only then that they ran into a guard.

“What are you doing here?” the strange blocky bot asked, sounding more confused than angry.

“Got a bit lost,” Bad Cop grumbled. “Can you point me in the right direction?”

“Oh, sure! Down that hallway, left, and then right, and from there you can just follow the signs out to the stadium. And hey, be more careful from now on, yeah? The General says there’s rogues about trying to stop the wedding, wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“You got it,” Bad Cop said. Good Cop giggled. Bad Cop followed the directions they were given and as promised, found himself in the stadium where the guests were gathering. The seats were nearly all filled by this point; the ceremony would be starting soon. Bad Cop took a look around. The outside of the stadium had speakers surrounding it so those furthest from the podium in the center would still be able to hear the Queen and Bruce exchange their vows. “Bingo,” Bad Cop murmured to himself, and made his way toward one of them. Systarians and Alterrans alike were quick to get out of his way once they saw the intent scowl on his face.

He’d just reached the speaker when they started, the wedding party making their way outside. _Alright Bad, it’s time. Are you ready?_

“This is nothing like playing for Mum and Dad,” Bad Cop grumbled in response, and turned his attention toward the speaker behind them, breaking the wire that connected it to the rest of the sound system. The few guests around them gave him an odd look when the sound suddenly cut out, but he paid them no mind, focused on reshaping the end of the wire into an audio jack to plug into the violin.

“What’d you do that for, man? I can’t hear what’s going on now!”

“Can it,” Bad Cop barked, and took a deep breath, then lifted the violin to his shoulder to begin playing.


End file.
